Abstract
Background and Aims: There are currently more than 11 million cancer survivors in the United States; for many, cancer is a chronic condition that requires effective management and coordination of care. Little research on cancer survivorship models has been done, and most has focused on care provided in cancer centers. To our knowledge, no research has been conducted within population-based integrated delivery systems. To this end, the Cancer Research Network (CRN) Survivorship Scientific Interest Group (SIG) undertook a project to identify and describe;
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current practices in cancer survivorship care,
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goals and/or intentions to create cancer survivorship care programs, and
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areas for future research in survivorship care models within integrated delivery systems.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with expert informants from 10 of 14 CRN sites. Individuals were selected based on their leadership roles in primary care/internal medicine, oncology, nursing and/or other cancer-related specialties. Interviews were conducted by telephone and were audiotaped, transcribed and coded. Analyses are underway; final results will be available at the HMORN meeting.
Results: Of the initial 48 persons contacted, interviews were completed with 40 expert informants. Preliminary analyses suggest that in general respondents were supportive of providing cancer survivors with medical services customized to the needs of cancer survivors. At most sites, follow-up care for cancer survivors was provided by an informal collaboration between primary care physicians and oncologists. Respondents reported that the electronic medical records available at their sites appear to facilitate communication between providers caring for cancer survivors. Challenges in providing care to cancer survivors included allocation of time and resources. Few sites have survivorship care-specific guidelines, care plans or other formal tools to assist physicians in creating follow-up care plans for cancer survivors. The interviews identified 2 formal survivorship programs underway and one being pilot tested.
Conclusions: While there appears to be an awareness of the needs of cancer survivors by the leadership in the integrated health care delivery sites, survivorship programs are generally not formalized. This study enhances our understanding of community-based cancer survivorship care and helps build the foundation for research on the effectiveness of different approaches to improve care.
- Received May 27, 2010.
- Accepted May 27, 2010.
